If you’ve hired a professional graphic designer for your needs, congratulations! You made a great choice; we love what we do, and that will show in the work we do together. The best part about your decision is the ability to fully customize your design; you’ll leave with a product you’re 100% satisfied with. In order for this process to be successful though, there’s a few things we need from you as well:

1. Be honest

I can’t stress this one enough. Seriously, honesty IS the best policy. If you love something, great! But if you hate something, tell us. This is what we do for a living; you definitely won’t hurt our feelings 😉 What hurts more for us is feeling like you may not be completely satisfied with your end product.

2. Be thorough

I always tell my clients that there’s no such thing as too much information. If you want to write us paragraphs, send us photo references, quote poetry; it’s all relevant to us in creating an image of what you want.

3. Try to keep group decisions minimal

Design, like most art forms, is subjective. Definitely ask your partner or your friends for their opinions; but just remember, this is YOUR design. Hearing something like, “I love the font, but my mom isn’t sure about it” can be confusing for us. The most important thing is that you are happy with your final product.

4. Ask us for our professional opinion

Not sure if something’s working? Can’t think of any suggestions? Ask us! This is what we’re here for, and is another huge benefit to hiring a professional designer. We are more than happy to provide our thoughts and opinions, and it makes us seriously happy when you trust us.

5. Understand that good design is a process

All good things take time; it’s rare something with be 100% perfect the first try. Revisions are a huge part of what we do, and customizing your design will most likely take a few of these.

So to summarize; communication! Talk to us, be specific, and have fun with it; this is your logo, your poster, your website and you are definitely stoked to see it coming together. Enjoy the design process- we definitely do.

Revisions come into play to make sure you as the client are completely happy with the final product you receive from your designer (which in turn makes us happy!) so it’s a total win-win situation. As with any form of partnership, communication with your designer plays a major role. Initially, make sure to be as clear as possible with what you want and need. If you’re not sure what you want, you might not be ready for the design portion of your process just yet.

Logos are a great example to showcase how revisions work. When Alex first reached out to me to help create a logo for his new photography venture, Atlantica Photography, he told me liked clean cut and modern but also wanted something that tied to his roots here in Newfoundland.

Of these three, he liked the bottom two but wanted to see some changes to the icon in the third.

As a general rule of thumb, there’s no such thing as too much information to give your designer! Tell us about things you like, things you don’t like. Colours you’re drawn to, and ones you despise. Love the Starbucks logo? Tell us why. All of these these little pieces of information will help us craft something that appeals to you and your business’ tastes and styles. Because Alex provided me so much information (while still entrusting me with design control), his revisions were simple and quick.

With these revisions, we were almost there. A couple more small tweaks, and the logo was ready to go.

As designers, we love creating graphics that you love! It’s really what keeps us so passionate about what we do. As a client be sure to communicate, be upfront if you don’t love something, and enjoy the process- this is your business too.

Using an unprofessional or poorly designed logo for your business is like heading into a meeting with ketchup on your shirt. If you’re reading this and you own a small business, you know how important first impressions are. There’s an endless amount of reasons you should treat your logo design as an investment rather than an expense; but here’s a list of the top 5:

1. It’s the face of your business

You may be thinking that as long as you have a logo, you’re set. But in the modern business world, it’s not you that makes the first impression- it’s your logo. Your potential client is Googling, Facebooking, or Instagramming their many options. If they like what they see, you get a call- you don’t have a chance to say a word until then.

2. It builds trust

Why is this important? Say you’re starting out, or switching markets, or trying to gain more clientele- these are the reasons you’d be looking for a logo. There are many people who’ve been here in the game longer than you. Why should anyone choose you? Because you work hard? Your prices are better? Everyone says that. Visual cues are interpreted quickly and make or break a client’s decision.

3. A personal approach

Hiring a design professional to create a custom logo won’t be as cheap as ordering one online. There’s a reason for that. A professional will talk to you, listen to you, make changes based on your needs, and thoroughly research your business and your style. We thrive on creating the best possible logo for YOU and for YOUR business. Your logo won’t be templated from anyone else’s.

4. High quality graphics

This may not seem like a big deal initially- as long as you have the .jpg, you’re good right? Sure; until your business gets in full swing and you need to send that .eps file to the clothing shop for your merchandise, or that .ai file to the guys printing your signage. Having the right file formats is a key part of keeping your business professional.

5. It shows your commitment

If you’ve invested in the proper marketing materials, including logo design, your client will notice that. Having a professional logo shows you’re serious about your business, and this isn’t just a hobby for you. And if you don’t take your business seriously, why should they? A serious commitment to your own business shows your client the kind of commitment level they can expect from you.

There are so many more reasons why a professional logo design is important. We want to see you succeed, and we take the face of your business as seriously as you do. So if you’re in the market for a logo, give your local graphic designer a call- we know what’s up 😉

I’m often asked about process, especially when it comes to logo design. What do I do, exactly? Why should you pay me for my services, when your mom’s best friend’s daughter can make you something in Microsoft Paint for free, or when you can hop online at 99 Designs for mass selection? Well, I’ll give you my best reasoning.

For me, the task of creating someone’s logo is neither a quick nor easy one. It is most definitely a process, and one I take great pleasure in. I charge not only for the finished product, but for my knowledge throughout the way. Now, I’m by no means a veteran in this industry- but when I’m hired for a project, I do believe that my clients trust in my proven skill set, to date. Likewise, I trust in their knowledge and expertise of their product, service, or business. That’s why I like to have an initial chat with my clients before we begin any work together. I like to find out exactly what they’re looking for, their likes and dislikes, and as much about their product or service as I can.

A logo is the face of a business, one that will ideally withstand the test of time, and be easily identifiable. It’s the first thing a customer sees, and they will form an initial opinion based on it. It’s important to me that my clients leave with a finished product that is both my best work, and something that they are completely satisfied with. If expectations are exceeded, even better.

As an example, I’ll use a recent client of mine. Ifenna approached me last month in regards to creating the new branding for his photography business, Figaero. I’d long since been a fan of his beautiful work, so I was stoked.

(photo by Figaero, figaero.com)

After our initial chat, it was time for me to begin the design process. Now, I normally never show my sketchbook or initial hand drawn concepts- not for any secretive reason, but because they’re always a giant mess of scribbles that look like a page from a kindergarten child’s journal. See below.

From this, I drafted three different logo options for Ifenna. Based on what he told me he was looking for, while incorporating my own style, this is what I came up with:

I always send three concepts- it gives my clients choice without being too overwhelming. From here, I get their feedback on what they like, what they don’t like, what they’d like to see different- and hopefully they’re pleased enough to choose one concept to move forward with. Ifenna chose the middle option- which also happened to be my favourite of the three. #WinWin

Since he didn’t have any design changes, we proceeded to colour. I put together three more options, this time in colour:

And ultimately, we settled on a darker version of the last one.

Both Ifenna and myself are super pleased with the final product. I’ve been blessed with awesome clients.

So, to conclude- why choose a designer? Why not just get your sister to do it, or throw down a fin at Fiverr? Because to us, your logo isn’t just a cash-for-jpg deal. We aren’t just thinking, ‘okay, how fast can I churn this one out?’, but instead ‘what’s going to work best for this person?’, ‘how can I help them achieve their business goals?’, and ‘how can I make sure the face of their business is unique, strong, and timeless?’. It’s not just about getting the job done. It’s about listening, offering our expertise and advice every step of the way, and working together for that killer finished product.

Under normal circumstances, these two things don’t really have anything in common. But here in St. John’s, during the month of November, Quidi Vidi Brewery and Fogtown Barber & Shop collaborated on a project that would break fundraising records in this part of town. I was lucky enough to have a small part in it.

I’ve been working with my friends at the brewery for a while now, and earlier this summer they approached me with an upcoming project: a new beer to be released. At the time I started the project, I wasn’t fully aware of what was involved with the campaign. After a few small changes to the label, the first thing we did was come up with a packaging colour theme and layout. One of the initial concepts looked something like this:

I like the black and white because it’s classic, but we ended up going with the gold and black- it gave more of an old school barbershop vibe. The labels turned out pretty deadly, because the gold had a metallic sheen to it. I was pretty stoked on the final packaging concept as well.

As I learned more about the ongoing project, I realized what an ingenious idea the whole thing was from a marketing perspective.

They decided to go with a Movember theme- the beer was to be a limited release during the month of November, and a team would be created to fundraise for men’s health. Here’s where the barbershop connection comes into play. Three events were held during November to promote the beer: an initial launch party and face-shaving event, and mid-month ‘check in’ party on the moustache growing, and a final awards event and count of total funds raised.

And fundraise they did. The QVFOGMO team raised over $30,000 for men’s health, blowing their initial fundraising goal of 10K out of the water. They ranked #1 in Atlantic Canada for fundraising, #16 nationally, and were the #1 brewery in the WORLD. Absolutely unreal.

To top it all off, Fogtown Lager sold out- like I mean, really sold out. The NLC supply was gone in the blink of an eye. The brewery held limited releases of 30 cases at a time every Saturday of the month, and ended up with lineups at the door before they even opened. Oh, and I should mention that the beer itself is most definitely delicious. It’s a pretty sweet feeling to have been involved in design work with a great cause.